APUSH Ch. 9 Terms

Bucktails

A Democratic-Republican faction in New York led by Martin Van Buren that opposed the elite Clinton faction. They got their name from the bucktail deer tails members wore in their hats and championed broader democratic participation while building the "Albany Regency" political machine.

Whigs

Political party formed in the 1830s to oppose Andrew Jackson and "executive tyranny." United diverse groups including National Republicans, Anti-Masons, and disaffected Democrats around support for the American System (national bank, internal improvements, protective tariffs) and congressional supremacy over presidential power.

Anti-Masons

America's first "third party," formed in response to the alleged murder of William Morgan who threatened to expose Masonic secrets. Opposed secret societies as undemocratic and elitist, and pioneered the national party convention system before most members joined the Whigs.

Spoils System

Practice of rewarding political supporters with government jobs, famously defended by Jackson's supporter William Marcy: "to the victor belong the spoils." Jackson expanded this practice, arguing it democratized government and prevented entrenched bureaucracy, though critics saw it as corrupt patronage.

National Party Convention

Democratic method of nominating presidential candidates that replaced the congressional caucus system. Anti-Masons held the first one in 1831, followed by National Republicans and Democrats, allowing broader party participation beyond Washington elites.

Nullification Doctrine

Theory that states could declare federal laws unconstitutional and void within their borders. South Carolina invoked this in 1832-33 to nullify federal tariffs, creating a constitutional crisis that Jackson resolved through both the Force Bill (authorizing military action) and a compromise tariff.

Peggy O'Neale Affair (Eaton Affair)

Social scandal involving Peggy Eaton, wife of Jackson's Secretary of War, whom Washington society women snubbed over her allegedly scandalous past. Jackson defended her (reminded of attacks on his own late wife), causing cabinet turmoil and Martin Van Buren's rise by taking Peggy's side.

Webster-Hayne Debate

Famous 1830 Senate debate ostensibly about western land policy but actually about nullification and national unity. Robert Hayne defended states' rights while Daniel Webster's reply championed federal supremacy, ending with his famous phrase "Liberty and Union, now and forever, one and inseparable!"

Bank War

Jackson's crusade against the Second Bank of the United States, which he viewed as a corrupt monopoly favoring eastern elites. He vetoed its recharter in 1832, withdrew federal deposits in 1833, and killed the bank, though this contributed to economic instability.

Roger Taney

Jackson's Attorney General, then Treasury Secretary who executed the removal of federal deposits from the Bank. Jackson later appointed him Chief Justice (1836-1864), where he infamously wrote the Dred Scott decision.

Charles River Bridge v. Warren Bridge

Supreme Court case under Chief Justice Taney that ruled corporate charters should be interpreted narrowly and not grant implied monopoly rights. Favored community economic development over vested corporate interests, reflecting Jacksonian democratic capitalism.

Specie Circular

Jackson's executive order requiring payment for public lands in gold or silver (specie) rather than paper banknotes, intended to curb land speculation and inflation. Contributed to credit contraction and the Panic of 1837.

"Independent Treasury" Act

(1840) Van Buren's solution to keep federal funds independent from private banks after the Bank War. Created subtreasuries to hold government money, keeping it separate from the banking system—a Democratic principle until the Federal Reserve.

Black Hawk War

(1832) Conflict in Illinois/Wisconsin when Sauk leader Black Hawk led followers back across the Mississippi to reclaim ceded lands. Resulted in massacre of his people and opened the Old Northwest to white settlement. Abraham Lincoln served as a militia captain.

Removal Act of 1830

Federal law authorizing the president to negotiate treaties exchanging Native American lands in the East for territory west of the Mississippi. Provided Jackson legal cover for forced removal despite Supreme Court rulings like Worcester v. Georgia.

Trail of Tears

Forced march of Cherokee Nation from Georgia to Oklahoma Territory (1838-39) after the fraudulent Treaty of New Echota. Approximately 4,000 of 15,000 Cherokee died from exposure, disease, and starvation during the journey, embodying the brutality of removal policy.

Osceola & Seminole Resistance

Seminole leader who resisted removal from Florida in the Second Seminole War (1835-42), the longest and costliest Indian war in U.S. history. Osceola was captured under a flag of truce in 1837, but Seminole resistance continued, with some never removed.

Panic of 1837

Severe economic depression beginning shortly after Van Buren took office, caused by speculation, the Specie Circular, distribution of surplus federal funds, and international factors. Banks failed, unemployment soared, and Democrats were blamed for hard times lasting into the 1840s.

Martin Van Buren - Jackson's Vice President (1833-37) and successor as President (1837-41). The "Little Magician" was chief architect of the Democratic Party and spoils system but suffered political defeat due to the Panic of 1837 and his refusal to use federal power for relief.

Great Triumvirate

Henry Clay (Kentucky), Daniel Webster (Massachusetts), and John C. Calhoun (South Carolina)—the three dominant senators of the era who represented different sectional interests but collectively shaped national policy through compromise and debate for three decades.

William Henry Harrison

Whig president elected in 1840 with the famous "Tippecanoe and Tyler Too" campaign emphasizing his military credentials and log cabin origins. Died of pneumonia 31 days into his term, the shortest presidency in American history.

John Tyler

Harrison's Vice President who assumed the presidency in 1841, establishing the precedent that VPs become full presidents (not acting presidents). A states' rights Virginian, he vetoed Whig economic programs, was expelled from his party, and earned the nickname "His Accidency."

Penny Press

Cheap daily newspapers (costing one cent) that emerged in the 1830s, like the New York Sun and Herald. Made news accessible to working classes through sensational human-interest stories and expanded democratic political participation through mass readership.

Caroline Affair

(1837) U.S. steamboat destroyed by Canadian forces in American waters because it was supplying Canadian rebels. Created diplomatic crisis with Britain and raised questions about neutrality and self-defense that Webster later addressed in diplomatic negotiations.

Aroostook War

(1838-39) Bloodless border conflict between Maine lumberjacks and Canadian forces over disputed territory in the Aroostook Valley. Tensions escalated to mobilization before diplomacy prevailed, with final resolution in the Webster-Ashburton Treaty.

Creole Affair

(1841) American slave ship where enslaved people mutinied and sailed to the Bahamas, where Britain freed them. Created diplomatic tensions over property rights, slavery, and maritime law between the U.S. and Britain.

Webster-Ashburton Treaty

(1842) Agreement between Secretary of State Daniel Webster and British diplomat Lord Ashburton that settled the Maine-Canada boundary, addressed the Caroline and Creole affairs, and established cooperation on suppressing the slave trade, easing Anglo-American tensions.

Treaty of Wang Hya

(1844) First formal treaty between the United States and China, granting Americans trading rights in five Chinese ports and extraterritoriality (exemption from Chinese law). Extended American commercial reach into Asia following Britain's Opium War victories.

Dorr Rebellion

(1842) Armed insurrection in Rhode Island led by Thomas Dorr demanding expansion of voting rights beyond property-holding requirements under the colonial charter still governing the state. Dorr's supporters wrote a new constitution and elected him governor, creating two rival governments before federal intervention supported the conservative charter government. Though it failed, the rebellion prompted gradual democratic reforms.